On April 28, Resorts World New York City became the first venue in New York City to offer a full-scale casino floor with live table games, arriving roughly 13 years after a statewide referendum cleared the way for expanded gambling.
The Queens property, which sits beside the Aqueduct Racetrack and is run by Malaysia-based Genting, debuted a live-dealer floor with more than 240 table games — among them blackjack, roulette, craps, and baccarat — alongside an existing inventory of more than 2,500 slot machines. Additional tables and machines are expected to come online later in 2026, the company said.
Genting Chairman KT Lim and Queens-raised rapper Nas, who is a partner in the development, were among those at a ribbon-cutting ceremony and ceremonial dice roll. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards attended the opening, according to the Washington Times.
Staffing added through the expansion now exceeds 1,200 positions, roughly 950 of which are table-game dealers, and the company projects an additional 500 employees will come aboard before the end of summer. Total employment at the site now stands at 2,200. Resorts World also operates a dealer training program that has graduated more than 400 local residents at the Queens property, with another 500 graduates expected by May.
Having secured its casino license on Dec. 15, 2025, Resorts World had a head start over the two other downstate license holders: unlike its competitors, it could build on a slots and electronic gambling operation that had been running for years, according to CNBC. Under its current tax arrangement, the property remits 63% of slots revenue and 30% of table game revenue to the state; the licensing agreement includes a provision that would bring those rates down to match whatever rivals end up paying once competing venues are operating, CNBC reported.
Neither of the remaining license holders is close to cutting a ribbon. According to the Washington Times, Hard Rock — working with hedge fund manager and Mets owner Steve Cohen — envisions an $8.1 billion entertainment complex near Citi Field in Queens, while Bally's has drawn up a roughly $4 billion resort at a Bronx golf course; both projects remain in early development with no imminent opening in sight.
Looking beyond the current opening, the company has outlined a $5.5 billion buildout of its 72-acre Queens site that would introduce a hotel, dining outlets, an entertainment arena seating 7,000, and a new public green space covering more than 12 acres. The facility has generated almost $5 billion for New York's public education system since 2011, the company said.